Good Eats was a cooking show that ran from 1999 to 2012 and was hosted by my favorite television personality, Alton Brown. Alton would use interesting methods to show you how to cook certain foods, and there was a definite comedic element to his show. I remember watching it when I was younger, and then it stopped airing.
Ever since then, Food Network hasn’t been the same. Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives has dominated the schedule for the past couple of years. Guy Fieri is obnoxious, in my opinion. His show runs for 8 hours on end almost every day, with the occasional Chopped thrown in there. Currently, Food Network has a ton of holiday-themed shows on. The Holiday Baking Championship is currently airing as I write this.
Alton Brown has said that Good Eats was a mix between Julia Child and “Monty Python.” After watching this show for a few years, I realize only now that this was true. Alton not only explained how to cook food and it make it taste amazing, but he would also explain how the ingredients interacted when you put them together. His show ran for 244 episodes, with 8 specials, and received two awards.
For the diehard Good Eats fans, or just people who want a break from Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, Alton announced the approximate airdate for his new show, Return of the Eats. Currently, Alton has only said that it's slated for release in 2018, once Food Network approves it, and “cut[s] Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives down to seven-and-a-half hours per block.”
More recently, Alton has had an increased presence on Food Network. A new installment of Iron Chef took place a little while ago. Alton Brown has also hosted a show called Cutthroat Kitchen, which is mildly reminiscent of Good Eats. He had contestants use random items to cook a meal that was pretty normal in nature. Cutthroat Kitchen made people think about how to use nonstandard items to cook relatively standard food.
Good Eats showed that Alton could use nonstandard methods to reach the same goal, which was making food.
Return of the Eats is currently in a grey area. Few details have been released. Not even a release date has been announced. We know to keep an eye out for it in 2018. With Alton's reintroduction to Food Network in 2017, I can’t help but think that they are preparing us for Return of the Eats.